Are We There Yet?: A Scott Family Road Trip
by Lorilozz
Summary: Road trips are fun, right? Think again! Between traffic jams, incompetent drivers, endless bathroom breaks and ‘evil clowns’, Nathan Scott’s beginning to wonder if they’ll ever reach their destination. NathanHaley & Jamie
1. Chapter 1

**Are We There Yet? – A Scott Family Road Trip**

**Summary: Road trips are fun, right? Think again! Between traffic jams, incompetent drivers, endless bathroom breaks and 'evil clowns', Nathan Scott's beginning to wonder if they'll reach their destination.**

**A/N: **_**This was written for the 'Going Places' challenge at the "Dare You To Write" community at LiveJournal. Thank you to Dawn, Bec and Kris for your support with this spontaneous little one shot.** _

"Are we there yet?"

Nathan grimaced at sound of the gratingly whiny voice and tightened his hold on the steering wheel; his headache steadily growing worse as the journey went on. He relaxed a little as he felt his wife's soft hand on his shoulder and glanced across to see her sending him a sympathetic smile.

She knew he was stressed. They were already almost an hour behind schedule due to road works on the freeway and her and Jamie's numerous bathroom breaks. She turned around to smile at her little boy who looked at her hopefully. This was the first time he'd been on a car ride longer than a couple of hours, and boredom had started to set in long ago. They'd played every game imaginable from eye spy to number plate bingo, but Jamie's attention was never held for long.

"No honey. Remember we talked about this just a little while ago."

"Yeah." Jamie blew out a frustrated breath.

"And what did mommy say?"

"That we still have a long way to go."

Haley fought back a chuckle at her son's adorable little pout. Nathan always said how much it reminded him of her. She'd denied it many times, complaining that she did not pout… but unfortunately during one such disagreement in their bathroom, Nathan had simply spun her around to look in the mirror… where she was faced with said pout. Damn him and his tricks!

"Okay" Jamie sighed before picking up his portable electronic basketball game. He just didn't understand why it was taking so long to get to Grandpa Jimmy and Grandma Lydia's house. Why couldn't they live close like Grandma Deb and Grandma Karen?

Less than ten minutes later Nathan was ready to snatch the damn game out of his son's hands and toss it out the window; the beeping noises driving him insane, and unfortunately there was no volume control. Sighing heavily for what felt like the hundredth time since they'd left the house, Nathan reached out and turned up the volume on the radio. He grimaced once again upon hearing 'lame chick' music on the station that Haley had tuned into earlier and quickly stabbed at the CD button, smiling in satisfaction when he heard the deep beats of an Eminem song.

"Oh no! No way are we listening to rap right now Nathan."

"Haaaales. Just for a little while, pleeease?"

"Why do I suddenly feel like I'm the only adult in the car?" she muttered under her breath. "Fine! But the first kick from your daughter and the music's going off. I swear to God this little girl is gonna be a dancer." Haley rubbed her extremely swollen belly smiling at the thought of her daughter dancing ballet or perhaps even being a cheerleader like her mother had been.

"Yeah. A hip-hop dancer! You know she loves my music already." Nathan nodded imagining how cool his little girl would be.

Haley smiled at him innocently and nodded her head in agreement, inwardly smirking when he raised his brow in surprise. "Really? You don't care if she loves rap and takes to hip-hop dancing?"

She placed her hand over his on the gear stick, squeezing it gently. "No, of course not baby. It'll be so much fun! I'll get to take her shopping for teeny little midriff baring tops and _low__low_ hipster jeans… oh and let's not forget the pretty little thongs she'll need to show off to the boys when she bends over with all those cool dance moves. God, Brooke and I will have a field day."

"Hell no! No way! She's learning ballet!"

* * *

"Why didn't you go when we stopped for Jamie earlier?" He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. This would be their fourth toilet stop since they'd left home. 

"I didn't need to pee then." She shrugged before turning back to look out the window.

Nathan sighed heavily before pulling into the exit lane that would take them to some back water town he'd never heard of. There didn't appear to be a gas station, but he quickly located a public toilet block… hell, it was hard to miss with all the activity surrounding it. He pulled into a car space on the edge of the reserve which was currently full of townsfolk enjoying some kind of fair. There was a petting zoo, some small children's rides, a clown making balloon animals and judging by the many children running past the car, there was face painting too.

Before Nathan even had time to blink, Jamie had unbuckled his seatbelt and scooted over from behind his mother to look out the window behind Nathan. The boy was in awe of the sight before him; his nose pressed against the window as a wide grin spread across his face. He turned eagerly towards his parents in the front of the car.

Haley could see how desperately Jamie wanted to go and join in the fun, but there was no way in hell Nathan was going to stay any longer than absolutely necessary. "Sorry Jamie, but we're already running late. We can't stay for the fair. Maybe it will still be on tomorrow and we drop by on our way home."

The disappointment in their son's eyes was heartbreaking and Nathan looked away, feeling incredibly guilty, whilst Haley exited the car and headed for the toilet block. After a few minutes without a word from his son, Nathan turned around to see what he was doing. He could have sworn that Jamie would beg him over and over again to get out and take a look around, but he hadn't said a thing.

The five year old had resumed his place behind Haley's seat and buckled himself in. He sat still, looking longingly out the window at the children having a good time, and Nathan could see he was trying not to cry.

"Oh hell." Nathan's harsh whisper went unnoticed by his son. This weekend away was supposed to be about family. He knew he'd been a grouch all morning and Haley and James didn't deserve it. So what if they were a bit late? Jimmy and Lydia would understand.

"Alright Jamie, let's go and check this thing out." He smiled back at his son whose look of hope made his heart skip a beat.

"Really?"

"Yep. C'mon"

Haley sighed with relief as she made her way back to the car. She just knew the baby must be sitting right on her bladder. She'd never peed so much in her life!

She halted in front of the car. It was empty. Panic raced through her veins for a millisecond before rational thought took over and she realized that Nathan would be with Jamie and everything would be fine.

"Hales!"

She turned towards the sound of her husband's voice and found him waving her over to where he stood next to their son who was currently crouched down, arms wrapped around the neck of a lamb, hugging it tightly. The sight made her heart melt. She quickly searched her handbag and took out her phone to snap a quick picture. As far as Haley was concerned, they could never have enough pictures of their son.

Jamie looked up and grinned at his mother, waving frantically for her to come over and meet his new friend 'baaaa-rt'. This was the best day ever, he thought to himself as the lamb nuzzled into his neck. Maybe his daddy would let him get a baby sheep instead of a dog. Maybe they could find a baby sheep that stayed a baby forever and never grew big, and it could sleep in his bed and he could teach it to play ball. That would be cool!

Nathan knew exactly what was racing through his son's mind and shook his head gently when Jamie looked up at him. "No Jamie. You can't have a lamb."

Jamie pouted slightly; not at all happy that his plans were ruined. "But we'll still talk about getting you a dog when we move okay?"

Nathan smiled when he realized the compromise seemed to appease the boy who nodded happily and went back to hugging and stroking his little barnyard friend. He suddenly realized that Haley still hadn't approached them, and looked over to find her standing frozen to the spot about 20 feet away. His brow creased in confusion as he took in her look of utter horror and the rigidness of her spine. Following the direction of her gaze he gave a sigh of relief followed by a slight chuckle.

She was stuck. Her feet just would not move and she wondered how on earth she was still breathing with that _thing_ standing right over there. As if sensing her fear _it_ turned to face her, grinning evilly. _It_ took a few steps closer and she startled, her eyes widening in dismay before her hero came to save the day, guiding _it_ away from her so she could finally release the breath she'd been holding.

"You okay baby?" His words were full of concern but she couldn't miss the twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

"Do not laugh at me Nathan Scott! That _thing_ shouldn't be allowed in a place like this. _It_ could scare the children."

The chuckle he'd been holding in finally escaped. "He's a clown, Hales. Children love clowns, and the only one afraid around here seems to be you."

She glared at him and playfully punched his arm before attempting to walk away. She was soon stopped, however, as Nathan gently took hold of her arm and pulled her back to him. She looked up into his eyes, no longer filled with amusement, but love and adoration. The way he looked at her sometimes took her breath away. She had no idea what she'd done right to meet her soul mate so early in life, but it must have been something pretty amazing.

He lowered his lips to hers in a sweet, tender kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled at him and kissed him quickly once more before turning to fetch her son.

She caught a glimpse of the big green wig and bright red nose from the corner of her eye and shuddered. The sooner they got away from that creepy _thing,_ the better.

* * *

"So you had fun, sweetie?" 

Jamie nodded his head eagerly. "The baby sheep was so cool mommy. I just know he'd be way better than a dog."

Haley laughed at her son's attempt to manipulate her. "He's called a lamb, not a baby sheep. And no, we're not getting one."

Knowing his chances weren't good in the first place, Jamie shrugged figuring it had been worth a try. He continued to babble on about all the other animals he'd seen and how cool the clown was that made him a giraffe out of balloons.

"Mommy doesn't like clowns, Jamie." Nathan teased, smirking across at his wife.

"But everyone loves clowns mommy."

"I uh… um…"

"Mommy's scared of them." Nathan laughed loudly as he glanced in the rearview mirror to find Jamie looking at his mother like she'd suddenly grown a second head. It was obvious he found her irrational fear just as strange as his father did. And then Jamie started laughing.

Haley hit Nathan's arm for a second time as she listened to both he and Jamie cackling about her fear of clowns. "That's so silly, mommy!"

Nathan smiled watching her pout as she looked straight ahead, ignoring them both completely. He did however, notice the corner of her lip twitch a couple of times as she fought back a smile, and he knew her anger was just an act.

Not much later all of Nathan's good humor had been erased. They'd gotten back on the freeway to find the weekend traffic at almost a standstill due to a fender bender, and when they'd finally got moving again Jamie was already restless and bored once more.

Nathan slammed on the breaks as a car cut in front of him without using their blinker, and held back the profanities he longed to scream out the window, knowing that Haley would kill him if he let loose in front of Jamie again, like he'd done earlier. He honestly felt bad about that. He'd been so angry that he'd forgotten his son's little eyes and ears were watching and listening as he expressed his… dissatisfaction with the other driver's actions.

"Stupid moron!"

Haley's head flipped around at her son's outburst to find him leaning forward trying to get a good look at the driver that had cut them off, whilst also proudly flipping them off. Her jaw dropped in shock before she turned to look at Nathan who had obviously seen his son in the rearview mirror and was cringing, waiting for his wife's reproach.

"Jamie! You do not say those words to anybody… and you most certainly do not do that!" Haley admonished her son, pointing at his hand, still mid-gesture.

"But Daddy did it before."

Nathan sighed and locked gazes with his son in the mirror. "I know that I did that before, but it was very wrong. I shouldn't have done it, and neither should you, okay?"

The boy nodded his head solemnly. "Sorry. I won't do it again, I promise."

Nathan avoided looking at his wife for almost ten minutes, dreading the glare she was likely to be leveling his way. Instead, he found her shaking her head resignedly and indulging in a silent chuckle. He released a breath; glad she could see the humor in the situation. They'd never let Jamie know it, but God damn that was funny!

He reached across and placed his hand on her thigh, squeezing softly. She smiled back warmly and placed her own hand on top of his. This was turning out to be a nightmare trip, but there was no one else they'd rather be taking it with.

* * *

At this rate, between the earlier traffic congestion, road works, incompetent drivers, bathroom breaks and a children's fair complete with 'evil clowns', they could forget about lunch and worry about making it in time for dinner, Nathan thought to himself, stressed and irritated beyond belief. 

He tapped his fingers against his thighs impatiently. God, what was she doing in there? Surely it couldn't take that long to pee. He groaned in annoyance as he watched her walking back to the car; arms loaded with snack and drinks. Right, 'cause they really needed to be consuming more liquid!

Haley awkwardly maneuvered herself into the car and gave them both a bottle of orange juice and a candy bar. They'd missed lunch now and she thought perhaps boosting Nathan's sugar levels would lower his cranky levels!

Haley rolled her eyes when her husband practically sped out of the gas station as soon as she'd fastened her seat belt. "Relax baby, we're already going to be late, so a few more minutes won't kill us."

Half an hour later, Haley was regretting her decision to drink the entire bottle of juice. She tried to cross her legs as best she could without drawing attention. The last thing she wanted right now was an 'I told you so'. He'd certainly made his point earlier about cutting back on the drinks so they'd reach their destination some time this year. She scoffed just thinking about his smarmy expression as he'd said it. Smart ass!

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Haley, do you seriously need to go again?" He knew they were almost there and that she would be able to wait until they arrived, but couldn't resist pointing out that she'd been wrong and he'd been right... it didn't happen very often!

She glanced at him sheepishly and shrugged.

"Why do you constantly need to pee?"

Haley rolled her eyes in disbelief while patting her stomach in response.

"I think the important question is why do you constantly need to get me pregnant?" Nathan bit back a smirk, all his irritation fading as he watched her face flush with annoyance. God she was sexy. "Nothing to say to that, huh?"

"You know you love it as much as I do."

Haley's brow furrowed in confusion. "Peeing?"

Nathan smirked openly now and shook his head. "Me getting you pregnant."

She found herself giggling like schoolgirl at his words, a blush working its way up her already rosy cheeks.

"Daddy, how do you get mommy preg… pregant?" Jamie asked innocently, struggling over the word that had his parent's eyes widening.

Nathan panicked for a moment before smiling triumphantly. "Oh. Look, we're here!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **Are We There Yet? – A Scott Family Road Trip

**Summary:**Road trips are fun, right? Think again! Between traffic jams, incompetent drivers, endless bathroom breaks and 'evil clowns', Nathan Scott's beginning to wonder if they'll reach their destination.

**A/N: **_Although originally meant only as a one shot, I have received many requests to make it a multi-chapter fic. At this stage it will only be a 3 parter, but could possibly be longer if I have more ideas. Thanks to everyone who left such wonderful feedback for the first chapter. Also, thank you to Dawn for helping me so much with this second chapter._

* * *

Jamie's excited squealing could be heard by both of his parents as they made their way up the driveway with their overnight luggage, thanking their lucky stars that they hadn't had to answer their son's awkward question. Sometimes they forgot his little ears heard everything they said, even though they should know better. 

"Aunty Tay! Aunty Tay!"

Haley couldn't help but laugh at the way her husband raised his eyebrow in surprise and mock annoyance. Even though she and Taylor had built a much better relationship over the years and were now quite close, Nathan still enjoyed pretending that she was the enemy and the two of them would argue constantly, throwing insults at one another like children. It was actually rather cute – and comforting – that Nathan's relationship with her wild sister was so brotherly.

"Be nice!" Haley admonished before they entered through the open doorway and followed the noise.

Nathan almost tripped over his own feet as he was forced to stop suddenly to let Jamie rush past him at a full run. Before he could even grasp as to why his usually well mannered child was racing around someone else's house, he was this time forced to jump back a step as Taylor bolted past him in the same direction as Jamie.

"I want my kiss, kiddo!" she screeched, laughing as she went. Her laughter mixed in with Jamie's squeals and giggles resulting in one very noisy household. Thank God Jimmy and Lydia had settled down in a small rural town where the nearest neighbor was out of yelling distance.

"Hurricane Taylor has arrived" Nathan complained, although the tips of his mouth were upturned in a slight smile. His wife rolled her eyes before pushing her bag into his hands and giving him a saccharine smile, requesting he take it upstairs for her, although they both knew it wasn't a question at all, but more of an order.

"Yes honey." Nathan kissed his her tenderly, knowing not to mess with a hormonal woman, before trudging upstairs with all of their bags, always willing to relieve his pregnant wife of any physically taxing duties. When he returned downstairs a few moments later he found his wife and parents-in-law watching on amusedly as Jamie struggled in his Aunt's arms whilst she peppered kisses on his face.

"Eewww. Cooties!" The impact of Jamie's protests ruined by his giggling as he squirmed.

"Who's your most favorite person in the whole wide world?" The blonde loved teasing her nephew. When she'd first found out that her baby sister had got herself knocked up in high school, she'd honestly thought her life was over. Getting married at sixteen had been bad enough, but after meeting her nephew and watching him grow, she realized how much better all their lives were with him around, and it was so obvious that Haley was born to be a mother. And even though she'd never admit it openly, Nathan was an amazing Dad.

The little boy's face scrunched up as he showed his Aunty that he was thinking about her question before a cheeky grin broke out. "Grandpa Jimmy"

Gasping in mock horror, Taylor pouted, following their usual routine to a tee. "I can see I'm going to have to bribe you. I'll give you anything you want if I can be your favorite person"

"So this is why our son was thoroughly convinced your sister was going to buy him a racing car after her last visit." Nathan growled remembering how difficult it was to explain to their disappointed little boy why his Aunt Tay wasn't going to be able to get him a real racing car. Eventually he'd settled for a toy one and after a terse phone call, Nathan had talked Taylor into posting one out to them.

Jamie's eyes lit up and his little body started bouncing around in her arms. "A baby sheep. I want a baby sheep, Aunty Tay."

Taylor looked over at Haley and Nathan with raised eyebrows and then to her parents, and mouthed in disbelief 'A baby sheep?'.

Lydia started chuckling from her position next to her husband who seemed to be mulling over the idea, a rather excited expression on his face and anyone would wonder who exactly the child was in the room. Lydia elbowed him out his daydream and shook her head at her youngest daughter. "Oh, Haley… and you always questioned our parenting."

Taylor laughed, enjoying every opportunity to tease her sister. Isn't that what they're for? "Well what do you expect Mom. I told you you should have made her burn that disgusting poncho she always wore... and lets not get started on that stupid teddy bear you let her keep when everyone else was way beyond that stage. You did nothing to curb her weirdness and look at the result - it's obviously been passed down!"

Haley gasped in indignation, but not for the reason one might expect. She'd forgive her sister for implying her son was weird because she knew she didn't really mean it, but was instead just trying to rile her up, and she'd forgive the poncho remark because… well it _was_ ugly, but nobody, NOBODY disses the bear and gets away with it! "You leave Mr. Waffles out of this!"

The three males in the room exchanged curious glances as Haley and Taylor continued to argue like schoolgirls on the playground and Lydia tried to diffuse the situation.

"It is sooo beyond normal Haley!"

"It is not. There's nothing wrong with still having my childhood toy."

"Pfft… packed away maybe, but I saw it sitting on that chair in your room last time I visited… I bet you even put it on your bed sometimes!"

Haley scoffed loudly trying to hide the flush in her cheeks as her sister unknowingly discovered a truth. She'd still been unable to part with him and sometimes when she knew no one else would be home, she'd placed him on their bed sitting amongst the pillows just like old times.

"And for your information, the only reason I still have him out is… for Jamie!"

"Nuh-uh. I don't like stinky old Mr Waffles, Mommy. I'm too old to have a teddy. Only babies need teddies."

"Ha!" Taylor stood up straight and crossed her arms over her chest triumphantly while her sister sent a mutinous glare her way.

Haley rolled her eyes as her sister continued to smirk at her, knowing she'd won. Haley sighed in defeat before looking across at Jamie and then to Nathan who was unable to hide his amusement at the whole situation. She mimicked Taylor's stance and pouted sulkily but obviously trying not to smile. "Traitors."

Jimmy stepped forward and took his youngest daughter into his arms for a comforting bear hug, eliciting a mumbled complaint from Taylor that Haley was always the favorite. "Oh Bub, you still do that adorable pout when you don't get your own way. Nice to see some things don't ever change"

At that statement Haley pulled back abruptly and looked at her father with obvious irritation. Turning around she abruptly left the room muttering something about getting dinner ready while Nathan laughed loudly as he watched her retreat, exceedingly pleased that someone else had called her on her pouting.

Nathan had no idea how his behavior could be deemed worse than Taylor's, but she obviously seemed to think so as she threw a dirty look his way which he knew was meant to admonish him for upsetting his wife. He'd never understand women… especially not James women. Looking exasperated at his father –in-law, Nathan headed for the kitchen to grovel for his wife's forgiveness. He'd been doing that a lot lately. Damn pregnancy hormones.

After a happy, tension free family dinner, Taylor, who had flown in to see her parents, announced she was borrowing her father's car and going out for a while, though no one knew where she'd possibly go in such a small town. It wasn't spoken aloud, but they wouldn't be surprised if she was dodging clean up duty. Nathan and Haley offered to help Lydia with the clean up, leaving Jimmy and Jamie to do as they pleased. Lifting his grandson onto his shoulders, Jimmy took him into the lounge area, ducking carefully underneath doorways, but also pausing briefly so that Jamie could touch the top of the doorframes as they went through. Up on the shoulders of his Dad, Uncle Luke or Grandpa Jimmy, was a favorite place for the little boy. It was a chance for him to see everything like the big boys do and to know what it will be like when he grows up to be a big tall basketball player, something he had his heart set on. His parents were just praying that he got his father's genes in the height department.

Settling his grandson on his knee, Jimmy smiled at the boy and began asking what he'd been up to since the last time they'd spoken on the phone. After a pause in the conversation the little boy looked up at his grandfather thoughtfully.

"Grandpa Jimmy, you know lots of stuff right, 'cause you're old?"

Jimmy chuckled at the way his grandson was so innocently and truthfully uncensored in his comments. He had a lot of grandkids now and that was one thing he'd always loved about spending time with them, they tell it how it is.

"Yep, very old and very wise."

Twisting a little so that was able to see his grandpa's face better, Jamie began asking all those important questions that only Grandpa Jimmy would know. He seemed to know everything. "How come I gots three Grandmas but only one Grandpa?"

"Oh, um… well you're just lucky. Not everyone has three Grandmas to spoil them and buy them presents and bake them cookies."

The little boy mulled this over thoughtfully. "Yeah, I do get lots of cookies… but Grandma Deb doesn't bake them, she gets them out of a packet… I've seen her hide it in the rubbish bin when she thought I wasn't looking." Hiding his chuckle at the image of Deb Scott in an apron baking cookies, Jimmy explained that not all Grandmas bake. They all have special things that they do.

"Ooh! Like how Grandma Deb is the only one who plays dress ups with me. We put on make up and everything and dance around. It's fun" Jamie suddenly grew serious and said in a conspiratorial whisper "But you can't tell Daddy!"

At this comment Jimmy couldn't contain his growing chuckles any longer and was almost crying with laughter as he wondered what Nathan's reaction to that information would be, and more importantly how the 'dress up' situation had come about to begin with.

Although Jimmy assumed that Deb had decided to make up for never having a daughter, by playing dress ups with her grandson, it wasn't correct at all. Jamie had been watching his mom get ready to go out one evening and looked on curiously as she applied lipstick to her lips. When she'd left the bedroom to get her purse, Jamie had quickly stood up on the chair in front of her dressing table and uncapped the lipstick, making a messy attempt to copy his mother. Nathan had walked in and quickly taken the item out of his hands, laughing at the adorable sight and telling him that boys don't wear lipstick.

After being dropped off with his Grandma Deb for the night, the older woman had noticed that her grandson was not his usually cheerful self and after finding him unresponsive to cookies, hot cocoa… or any other bribe she could think of, she asked him what would make him happy. Jamie had quickly perked up, batted his eyelashes and given her a brilliant smile he'd learnt long ago she couldn't refuse, and asked "do you have lipstick?"

"Do you and Grandma Deb play dress ups a lot?"

Jamie grinned joyously "Only when I do this..." his grin turned into a full pout complete with trembling lower lip. Jimmy's eyes widened in surprise, the boy was a master manipulator just as his mother had been at his age!

"You're your mother's son, James. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Jamie had no idea what his Grandpa meant, but rather than ponder it, he thought up his next question. His Dad hadn't given him an answer so maybe Grandpa Jimmy would.

"How does Daddy get Mommy pregant?"

Jimmy was startled out of his humorous thoughts by yet another question from his grandson, this one even more difficult to answer than the last. If only he had all the answers like Jamie seemed to think he did.

"Oh, well you see…um, you should really ask your Dad this question Jamie."

"I did, but he didn't answer."

Smirking at the thought of Nathan's uncomfortable tiptoeing around that particular question Jimmy decided to have a little fun.

"Wait until tomorrow when you're in the car on the way home and ask again."

Jamie pouted not liking the response and wondered why nobody would give him an answer. It wasn't fair when grown ups wouldn't tell him stuff. He was a big boy now and he needed to know stuff!

Quickly changing the topic, knowing that he was just as vulnerable to Jamie's pouting as every other adult in his life, Jimmy steered it towards something that would surely cheer the boy up. "So what do you want for Christmas this year?"

Jamie's body immediately radiated excited energy as he smiled up at his Grandpa. "I want a baby sheep."

Nathan and Haley who had just been kissing and canoodling on their way back from the kitchen walked in to hear their son's request and quickly rolled their eyes knowing that he wasn't going to let this drop for a while.

"No honey. We told you you can't have a lamb for Christmas."

"Aww, but mom! I've been good, why can't I have one?"

"I'm sorry baby, we know you've been very, very good, but we don't have anywhere to keep a lamb. They're meant to live in the country, not in a backyard like ours."

Jamie leaned further into his grandpa's chest and sulked, murmuring that it wasn't fair. Even though they were used to having to refuse Jamie things, it never really got any easier, especially when he looked so heartbroken.

"It's nearly time for bed honey. Finish up with Grandpa and then we'll get you in the bath."

"I want Grandpa Jimmy to do it!"

Haley looked to her father and smiled as he nodded his head in agreement. She loved how close her little boy was with his Grandpa, it made Dan's absence from his life a little less concerning. She didn't want Dan Scott anywhere near her son, but also hated the fact that he'd been deprived of a second Grandfather. Seeing the bond these two shared filled her heart with joy. Feeling Nathan take her hand and squeeze it, she looked over to see him smiling at the sight too. The situation with his father had hurt him deeply, but the relationship he'd formed with Jimmy James was better than any relationship he'd ever had with Dan Scott.

As his daughter and son-in-law left the room, Jimmy leaned down and whispered "Don't you worry, you'll get your baby sheep."

* * *

Nathan could hear Jamie rustling the sheets on the cot they'd set up at the end of their bed, but pretended to be asleep hoping to get just a few more minutes rest. They had another long drive back home again this afternoon and it was bound to be as exhausting as the ride here. 

"Oomph"

Jamie giggled as jumped on his father who then rolled to the side causing him to slip in between his parents. He felt his mother's arms wrap around him and pull him into a big hug which he eagerly returned.

"Group hug Daddy! Group hug!"

Nathan, now fully awake, chuckled and eagerly wrapped his arms around his wife and son, enjoying the morning tradition they'd started a couple of years earlier.

"That's enough Daddy, I can't breathe." Jamie laughed as he squirmed between them careful of his mother's stomach. Suddenly he felt the baby kick and gasped in surprise. No matter how many times he felt it, it was always amazing to him that his little sister was in there waiting to come out.

"The baby's playing too!"

Haley winced at a particularly strong kick. "She sure is."

"Mommy. 'She' is the cat's mother. You have to stop calling her that"

Nathan rolled his eyes at the saying his wife used on both he and their son. Apparently it was something she picked up from a British professor in College and she loved it so much that she kept right on using it even though no one ever knew what the hell she was talking about!

"Well sh… the baby doesn't have a name yet sweetie, so it's okay to call her 'she' until we have one picked out."

"Oh, well let's give her a name now." Jamie looked excitedly between his parents.

Nathan gave his wife a teasing 'you've done it now' look but decided to humor his son. "Well we can think of some possible baby names. Are there any that you like, Jamie?"

"Yep. We should call her baby sheep."

Haley didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This new obsession her son had didn't seem to be waning at all. Trying to distract him, the teacher in her emerged. "They're called lambs, sweetie,"

"Okay, let's call her Lamb" His words were uttered confidently like it was the most logical conclusion in the world.

Haley who had been propped up on an elbow, slumped back down to the pillows. It was too early in the morning to deal with this.

Nathan rose from the bed and reached over picking his son up and setting him on the floor. "Hmm… maybe we'll talk about baby names another time. But right now we should get dressed and see if Grandma Lydia needs help cooking breakfast"

"Yeah! I wanna help with the pancakes!"

"Okay, but first… why don't you go jump on Aunty Tay! She's a lazy bones in the morning."

Jamie grinned widely before opening the door and tearing down the hallway to the guestroom where his Aunt was sleeping. Nathan and Haley both laughed hysterically when they heard Taylor's screeching a few moments later. "Nathan!"

He was saved by the bell as his cell phone rang. Fifteen minutes later Nathan finished up the call from his brother who had asked to be picked up on their way home that day. He'd had a meeting with his publisher scheduled that afternoon, but his car had broken down in a town not far down the highway from Jimmy and Lydia's. The mechanic had unfortunately informed him that because his car was a rare classic, it would take a few days to get parts in, and as Luke had informed his brother, there was no damn way in hell he was staying in that hick town for one night let alone a few days, he wanted a ride.

After getting dressed, the couple walked hand in hand into the kitchen where they found Jamie and his Grandma mixing pancake batter. The kitchen was a mess and the front of Jamie's "I'm so cute you could eat me" apron was covered in eggs and flour, but the smile on his face as he chatted happily with Lydia was enough to make Haley forget about the mess he'd made.

"Morning Bub, Nathan. Did you sleep well?"

They were just about to answer when Taylor stormed into the kitchen, a scowl on her face as she playfully whacked Nathan over the back of the head and hissed under breath that he was a jackass.

"Well, I certainly didn't. Dad's been making all that God awful noise outside and then Nathan decided to be his usual thoughtful, charming self and have me woken up by having the air knocked out of my lungs!"

"Oh honey, you've never been a morning person. I'm sure he just wanted you to be up in time for breakfast." Lydia smiled at Nathan and went back to helping Jamie stir the batter.

Taylor's jaw dropped in righteous anger as she leveled a glare at Nathan who was smirking cockily at her. He loved it when his mother-in-law took his side.

"But maybe next time Nathan should come up with a nicer way to wake you up, that way he won't be miss out on pancakes for breakfast again."

This time it was Nathan's turn to look shocked as Taylor smirked and walked back out the room chuckling lightly.

"We didn't hear Dad this morning. What's he doing?"

Lydia shrugged, nonplussed. "Oh, I don't know. He's outside pottering around. He was making a whole heap of noise earlier but you probably didn't hear it on the other side of the house." She smiled at her grandson and patted his head lightly. "That's the best pancake batter I've ever seen. Now you can't use the stove, so why don't you go see what Grandpa Jimmy is up to?" she asked untying his apron for him.

"Okay" he said before racing to the back door, then turning around with a hopeful expression. "Can I eat Daddy's pancakes?"

A few minutes later after Lydia had promised that she would slip him a couple of pancakes when Taylor wasn't watching, Nathan heard his son calling excitedly for his parents to come outside. He took his wife's hand and they made their way out the door and around the corner to find Jamie watching his Grandfather erecting a wooden enclosure. He was actually quite surprised at how well Jimmy was taking to rural life, the improvements he made around the house and the yard each time they visited where really impressive.

"I wonder what he's up to" Haley murmured suspiciously.

"Mom! Dad! Grandpa's making a new pen for me."

"Really? You're gonna live out here in a pen next to the pig?" Haley questioned teasingly while indicating to the miniature pig that was watching curiously from the pen next door.

Her son giggled and shook his head. "No! You're so silly! It's not for me, it's for my baby sheep."

Haley's eyes widened in surprise and her husband's expression was fairly similar. Jimmy James was getting their son a lamb. Neither of them knew whether to be pleased or annoyed. It was such a beautiful gesture, typical of Jimmy when his grandkids were involved… but they had specifically told their son he couldn't have one.

"Jimmy James! What _are_ you up to now?" Lydia called as she inspected the sight before her.

The older man smiled sheepishly at his wife before shrugging his shoulders. "I'm getting prepared for Jamie's Christmas present. We're getting him a lamb."

"Oh, are we now?"

Lifting his chin in defiance, Jimmy nodded his head. "Yep. We most certainly are."

Lydia sighed loudly and turned to her daughter in defeat. "Well, pugsly has been getting a little lonely…" she offered in explanation, referring to the pig that Jimmy had bought their nine year old granddaughter Ruthie, after she'd visited with their daughter Quinn and son-in-law Micheal, and had become obsessed with the movie Babe.

"Mom! You said there was no way you were going to let dad get another farm animal because he'd just take it as license to set up his own petting zoo!"

Lydia shrugged in a similar fashion to her husband and smiled. "I never could refuse your father anything for too long." With that she turned and walked back into the house to finish preparing breakfast.

Haley linked her arm through Nathan's and rested her head against his shoulder, rubbing his forearm comfortingly as she felt the tension in his body. This was going to be a disaster. Jamie would cry every night wanting to see his pet which was hours away. Almost as if the thought reached her son's consciousness, Jamie turned to his Grandpa with a frown.

"But if he lives here with you, I won't see him"

Jimmy could see the tears already starting to well in the little boy's eyes. "I promise to take good care of him for you and it just means you'll have to come visit us more often."

Jamie perked up immediately and ran over to his parents. "Daddy. Can we? Can we visit every day?"

Nathan inwardly groaned at the thought of more nightmarish road trips like the one they'd made the day before. He squatted down so that he was on Jamie's level.

"No buddy, we can't visit every day." When he saw the pout forming again, he quickly added "Do you remember how long it took us to drive here yesterday?" Jamie nodded solemnly. "Well you wouldn't want to do that every day and back again would you?"

"No." he sighed dejectedly, before looking up at his father again with a hopeful expression "Maybe the baby sheep can come and stay with us on the holidays like we sometimes stay with Uncle Whitey."

Haley squeezed her husband's shoulders and responded for him. "We'll talk about it another time. Why don't you finish helping Grandpa before we call you in for breakfast?"

"Okay mommy."

After breakfast was eaten, Jimmy and Lydia said their goodbyes to Haley and Nathan, and smothered their grandson with kisses. To their surprise, Haley had announced that Taylor was going to be making the trip back to Tree Hill with them so she could visit for a few days. They'd bid her farewell and requested that she take it easy on Nathan to which she sighed and reluctantly agreed, although as she walked down the steps of the porch, they could see her fingers still crossed behind her back and both of them chuckled at their daughters typical behavior.

Standing on the porch and waving as the car pulled out of their driveway, Lydia turned to her husband with a cheeky smirk.

"That's gonna be one hell of a road trip."


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: **Are We There Yet? – A Scott Family Road Trip

**Summary:**Road trips are fun, right? Think again! Between traffic jams, incompetent drivers, endless bathroom breaks and 'evil clowns', Nathan Scott's beginning to wonder if they'll reach their destination.

**A/N: **_Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed, I appreciate the support. I'm sorry it's taken so long to finish this little fic, but I didn't get inspired until watching the premiere of season 5 and seeing how amazingly adorable James Lucas Scott is! I hope you enjoy this final chapter._

* * *

"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with 'F'"

"Fingers?" Jamie exclaimed excitedly while holding up his own hand, obviously certain he'd won the game already.

Taylor shook her head with a rueful smile as Jamie sighed in defeat. But in true four year old fashion, that lasted only a few seconds before he was smiling and bouncing in his seat once more.

"Ooh! I know! Football."

Haley turned in her seat and smiled at the sight of her son and her sister smiling together. Jamie looked between the two of them waiting for an answer and they couldn't help but laugh at the random guess.

"There's no football in the car Jamie… and you're lucky your daddy isn't here. Remember not to say the 'F' word around him." Jamie giggled thinking of the little joke between him and his mommy. The two of them loved to have Jamie pretend to want to be a footballer just to make his daddy mad.

"Um… Fat tummy!"

Haley's head whipped around again from her position in the front passenger seat as soon as the words left her son's mouth, and found him looking at her ever growing stomach hopefully, while her sister was laughing so hard next to him that she had tears rolling down her cheeks. There was no doubting where Jamie had picked up that little piece of information.

"I don't have a fat tummy, sweetie. That's your sister growing in there."

"If that's your story." Taylor snickered before turning her attention back to the boy seated next to her in the middle of the back seat. "Do you give up yet?"

Jamie scrunched up his face as he thought about giving in, but then his gaze dropped to his Auntie's tee shirt. "Frog! It's 'F' for frog, Auntie Tay"

Taylor leaned over and hugged him quickly, kissing his forehead. "Yep. 'F' for frog. You're way too smart for a little kid, ya know that?"

"Hey! I'm not a little kid. I'm a big boy." He looked to his mother for back up. "Isn't I mommy?"

"It's 'Aren't I' sweetie, and yes you certainly are a big boy. You're so big you'll be starting school next year."

Noticing the excited gleam in the boy's eyes at the thought of starting school, Taylor shook her head knowingly. He was definitely his mother's son.

"Oomph" Taylor grunted in discomfort as Jamie undid his seat belt and scrambled on top of her, his face smushed against the window as he peered outside the parked car.

"Uncle Luke! Mommy, Uncle Luke's here! Uncle Luke's here!"

Haley turned to find her husband and brother-in-law approaching the car, chatting away and laughing happily. Her lips lifted in a small smile. She loved seeing them together this way. It had been over six years since the brothers had built a relationship and yet it still touched her every time she saw them together, their bond stronger than that of many brothers who had grown up in the same household their whole lives.

In his excitement Jamie struggled with the door handle, unable to open it. Taylor placed her hand over his and lifted the handle, grunting once again as he used his sneaker clad feet to push off of her and jump onto the pavement below.

Nathan looked up in surprise as he heard his son's loud voice yelling out his brother's name. He'd considered letting his son know about their extra passenger for the trip home, but had wanted to see the adorable look of surprise and delight on his face when he saw his uncle. Seeing the way his eyes lit up and the wide grin that he loved so much, Nathan knew it had definitely been worth it. There was nothing better than seeing his boy happy.

"Uncle Luke!"

Squatting down, Luke opened his arms and caught his nephew as he flew into them. It had only been a couple of days since he'd seen the boy, but Jamie was such a huge part of his life that it felt empty when he wasn't around. The little guy meant the world to him and he knew he loved him as much as he would love his own children some day. Nathan was a great father and Jamie was definitely a lucky kid, but he remembered his own childhood with his Uncle Keith and wanted his nephew to know that he could depend on him in the same way.

"Hey buddy. You surprised to see me?"

Jamie nodded his head as Lucas picked him up and the three Scott boys made their way over to the car with Jamie telling his uncle all about his visit with his Grandparents. Luke smiled at his very pregnant best friend and then raised an eyebrow in surprise at the sight of her sister sitting in the back. That was unexpected… and scary. Haley, Nathan and Taylor in the same house could be volatile at times, so he didn't know how they'd all fair stuck in a car together for hours.

"Are you gonna sit in the back with me, Uncle Luke? You can play Eye Spy with me and Auntie Tay."

Putting the boy down as they reached the car, Luke watched him scramble across Taylor's lap and was startled to find her looking at him in a suggestive way that clearly said 'you gonna climb on me too?"

He'd known Taylor for years and was used to all the jokes, teasing and innuendo so he simply smiled and shook his head before walking around to the other side of the car, trying not to roll his eyes at the way his brother was glaring at her. Those two would never change.

"Are you gonna play?" Jamie bounced excited between his Auntie and Uncle just knowing this was going to be the best trip ever.

"Yeah, Jailbait. You wanna play?" Taylor rose an eyebrow teasingly, obviously amused by her comment.

"Jailbait?" Lucas asked warily, really not sure that he wanted to know the answer.

Haley groaned and turned to her sister. "Can we please not go there, Tay?"

Ignoring her sister's request, Taylor answered. "It's what me and my friends used to call you when you'd come over to see Haley. You were such a little hottie but just a tad too young for us."

Haley scoffed thinking how ridiculous the statement sounded considering her sister's history. No boy had been out of bounds for Taylor in High School. She'd never admit it, but she knew her sister had never touched Lucas because of his friendship with her. She hadn't always been selfish and spiteful.

Lucas noticed both girls pouting and worried that the tension was building a little too much for his liking he quickly interjected with a recount of his disastrous car breakdown and the transsexual who'd stopped to offer him a lift and a bed for the night… a bed to share!

He shuddered at the memory of the tall beefy guy who despite the fact that he was sporting a bad wig, ridiculously long false eyelashes, a very obvious Adam's apple and an outfit worthy of an eighties Cher video, didn't seem to think that Luke would notice he was a man.

"Oh Luke, you should have accepted it. It's probably just one of Nathan's buddies. I hear they all like to dress in their girl's underwear." The smirk on her face was smarmy enough to rival on of her brother-in-law's.

Lucas chuckled remembering the bet Nathan had lost in their second year of college where he'd had to walk through the cafeteria dressed in only his wife's panties and bra. It wouldn't matter how much time passed, his brother was never going to live that one down.

"Can it Taylor!" Nathan growled

"Yeah, Auntie Tay. Can it." Jamie said loudly, mimicking his father. Lucas tried to hold in his laughter, but completely lost it at his nephew's antics and doubled over laughing, all three back seat passengers chuckling loudly.

"Jamie!" Haley admonished noticing the mischievous glint in her son's eye. He'd long ago learned he was likely to get in less trouble from his parents if there were witnesses around and seemed to be taking full advantage of that. Haley knew it was normal for a boy his age to test boundaries, but she had to be careful about being firm enough when disciplining him whilst ensuring not to make him wary of every little thing he said for fear of getting in trouble.

"Nice parenting there Hot Shot." Taylor knew her satisfied smirk would drive her brother-in-law nuts and that was something she definitely took pleasure in doing. He was just so much fun to stir up.

"Taylor" Haley ground out in warning.

"What?" she asked with an air of studied innocence. "Jeesh, you've got your self a keeper there Sis."

The car was practically silent for the next twenty minutes, even Jamie sensing it would be best to sit quietly for a while. His daddy looked mad; he knew he wasn't mad at him, but his Auntie Tay. She way naughtier than he ever was; maybe Grandma Lydia and Grandpa Jimmy never gave her enough time outs.

"Honey?" Haley asked sweetly to get her husband's attention.

"Yeah babe."

"Um, I really need to pee." She offered hesitantly, knowing Nathan was almost at breaking point. Who knew driving to see their parents would be so damn stressful.

Nathan hated that she seemed so worried about ticking him off and although he'd enjoyed the silence for a while, the tension in the car was not pleasant and he hated the thought of Jamie having such a terrible time. Glancing at his wife he smiled and nodded. "Okay Hales. I have an idea. Think you can hold it for another ten minutes or so?"

She nodded smiling and placed her hand over his, squeezing softly.

They pulled into a familiar parking lot soon after and Haley beamed a grateful smile at her husband, undoing her seatbelt quickly to lean over and peck his cheek. "Thank you. Jamie is going to love this."

They both turned to find their little boy asleep between his aunt and uncle, his head resting against Taylor's arm.

"Sweet. Is this the place Jamie was telling me about yesterday?"

Nathan nodded and reached out, placing a hand on his son's knee, shaking him to wake him up from his nap. "Buddy. Wake up."

The little boy's eyes fluttered open, and he grunted at his father not appreciating being disturbed. He'd always hated being waken up, even as a baby. "What is it daddy?"

"It's a surprise for you."

And with those magic words Jamie bolted upright, a gleam of anticipation in his sparkling blue eyes. "Cool! What is… yay!!! We came back!" Within moments his seatbelt was unbuckled and his little legs were scrambling over Luke's knees to get outside.

"Woah. Hold up there kiddo. Be careful where you're putting those feet."

"Quick Uncle Luke. I have to show you my friend."

Once they'd all exited the car, Haley and Taylor headed off to the toilet block while Nathan and Luke were literally dragged over to the petting zoo by an overexcited Jamie. Bypassing the cows, pigs and goats, the little boy zeroed in on the pen that contained the sheep. Nathan noticed the same man working the petting zoo as the day before and quickly said hello asking if his son could please see the lamb he played with the day before.

"Sure thing."

"See him Uncle Luke? His name's baaaa-rt and he likes to give kisses on the nose and he's the bestest baby sheep ever!" Jamie threw his arms around the animal, nuzzling into the soft fleece of its neck.

The two brothers shared smile, their hearts melting at the sight. Jamie had been a ray of sunshine in their lives since the day he was born and moments like these really cemented just how big a place he held in their hearts.

"Oh no you didn't!"

It only took a second for the guys to recognize Taylor's voice and they spun around to see her in some sort of altercation with a clown. Nathan could see it was the same clown from the day before and searching quickly his eyes found Haley who, rather than looking scared, appeared to be just as angry as her sister.

"Get out of my face you crazy bitch."

Nathan bristled at the clown's comment. He many not be his sister-in-law's biggest fan but no way was he going to stand for her being spoken to like that by a stranger. Taylor could definitely hold her own so he knew they needed to get over there straight away.

"Sorry, Jamie. We need to go get mommy. We can come back and see this little guy later."

With a pout and a grunt of disappointment, Jamie kissed the top of the lamb's head and took his father's hand before they walked briskly over to the clown and the two James sisters who were involved in a heated argument.

"I said take it back you old skeez!"

"What?" He scoffed; his smile no longer wide and inviting like it had been all day for the children, instead his lip curled in a nasty scowl. "It was a joke. Not my fault she's so sensitive. Besides, she started it by glaring at me. I ain't done nothing to her."

Haley's jaw dropped. Sure, she'd glared a little… but who wouldn't when that creepy thing kept staring. And she'd only glared. He'd been disgustingly insulting! "You told me I'd better hope I was carrying triplets or to get myself to the gym a.s.a.p!"

The clown chuckled momentarily before realizing the trio had been joined by two men and a boy – all glaring at him menacingly. Realizing he'd been caught out, he coughed and mumbled something about having to get back to work.

"I don't think so you freak! Nobody talks to my sister that way and gets away with it."

They all looked on with astonishment as Taylor threw herself at the clown, jumping on his back and sending them both toppling to the ground. It was as though the scene played out in slow motion, the two of them rolling around on the grass, pushing and pulling at each other's clothing and screaming unintelligible insults at each other.

Nathan and Luke glanced at each other before sharing a little chuckle, not really concerned for Taylor at all; instead both of them thinking that the clown had better be worried about what the petite little spitfire would do to him.

Haley felt a surge of pride and love for her sister. Normally in this situation she'd be pissed off at her sister for causing a scene, but the fact that even though the two of them fought constantly, Taylor was still willing to stand up for her… well it really meant something. Taking a few steps forward, Haley kicked the clown in the shin, causing him to release his grip on her sister and clutch at his leg.

"Ouch. Damn it you lard ass! That hurt!" He cried out looking like some sort of nightmarish horror movie character, his green wig long gone and his clown make up, smeared across his face resulting in one ghoulish looking creature.

"Mommy's kickin' that clown's ass" Jamie squealed with a mixture of awe and excitement.

"Jamie, don't say Ass!" Lucas reprimanded automatically. He'd been around his nephew often enough to know that Jamie was well aware of the fact he was not allowed to curse.

"But that's what Mommy said! She said 'Ooh I'm gonna kick your ass!'"

Luke stifled a chuckle and rolled his eyes figuring he couldn't argue with that. For once, Haley would have no one else to blame but herself for Jamie's misbehavior. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he heard his best friend ranting again.

Haley let out a few obscenities and threatened the clown, looking more than a little odd being so obviously pregnant and screeching at a children's entertainer, before Nathan stepped in, worried she'd carry out her threats which were definitely not a good idea, especially in her condition. Moving his wife back from the current tousle, Nathan grabbed the clown's bright red suspenders and yanked him up to his feet as though he weighed no more than a child.

Luke, seeing Taylor rise to her feet ready to pounce, quickly jumped in and held her back as she thrashed in his arms. "Let me go!"

"Just calm down Taylor."

"It's bad to fight Auntie Tay." Jamie said solemnly from where he stood a few feet away watching the scene unfold with fascination.

"Well he was mean to your mom!"

Nathan shook his head, wondering who was the child in the situation and growled at Taylor to be quiet. He did not want his son thinking it was okay to fight. He'd already seen his mother in action!

Jamie quickly glanced between the man his father was restraining and his mother who he'd never seen looking so mad. Even when he was naughty she didn't look like that. His gaze moved back to the man who looked mean and scary with yucky paint smudged on his face. Taking off at a run he barreled into the man, his tiny fist colliding with his testes. The groan of pain could be heard all around them as a crowd started to gather.

"Go Jamie! You are so my nephew!" Taylor broke free of Lucas' hold and ran in to scoop up her nephew, praising him for his actions; his parents and uncle standing by in shock, not knowing whether to laugh or yell. When a security guard came through the crowd, it was obvious that laughing was not a good idea.

"What in the heck is goin' on over here?" The security guard asked looking at the strangers suspiciously.

"These two," he said pointing at Haley and Taylor "assaulted me… for no reason."

"Hmm… now I find that hard to believe Roger. A pregnant lady attacked you?" Raising his brow questioningly he motioned for Nathan to let him go.

"Yes she did, along with that psycho over there! I want them arrested!"

Luke, who stood right beside Taylor, put his hand on her arm as she went to speak. He knew she'd end up getting everyone in more trouble if she didn't keep her mouth shut.

"Excuse me Mister." Jamie said quietly from his position on Taylor's hip "That man was mean to my mommy. He made her cry."

Looking at Taylor with a smile, the security guard suggested she take her little boy to see the animals while this mess got sorted out. Nathan felt a mixture of pride and unease at how well his son had just manipulated the security guard, and nodded his head, showing Taylor he wanted her to play along and not to correct the guard's mistake.

Sighing and shaking his head the security guard turned back to Roger with his hands on his hips. "Why can't you ever learn to keep your mouth shut? You behave yourself perfectly around the kids, but get near an adult and you're an ass!"

"Hey, that little so and so punched me in the balls!"

"What, you want me to arrest him too… along with the pregnant lady? Go home Roger." He ordered and watched the man glare at his 'attackers' before storming off. "And I suggest you folks be heading off too."

"Thank you. We're sorry about the fuss." Haley said sweetly, smiling like an angel, quickly and completely charming the man.

"You are such the master manipulator Hales. Now I know where Jamie gets it." Nathan chuckled as he threw his arm over her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Of course. I'm fine… just mad as hell at that idiot."

"What were you thinking? Getting in a fight... although considering your track record with fights during pregnancy I shouldn't be surprised, huh?"

Haley lifted her chin defiantly. "Well… he deserved it… and so did she for that matter! I was never in danger of getting hurt."

"I know." Nathan lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her softly before whispering against her lips "Plus it's really hot!"

"Oh yeah? How hot?"

"I'll show you when we get home."

"Hmmhmm" Lucas cleared his through behind them trying not to laugh as Haley blushed and buried her face against her husband's chest. "If you're done with the foreplay, maybe we could get going."

Reaching the car, the three of them shared a look puzzlement… and suspicion. They'd just been to the petting zoo to get Taylor and Jamie, convinced they would have to tear the little boy away, but they hadn't been there. Instead, the two of them were seated in the back of the car, both perfectly quiet and staring out the windows like they didn't have a care in the world. There was something definitely odd about that picture considering the two of them acted live five year olds whenever they got together… the sad thing was that only Jamie had an excuse. Taylor was usually worse than him.

"What's going on?" Haley asked as she hopped in the car.

"Nothing."

Nathan and Haley shared a glance before he asked "Why so quiet?"

Jamie bit his lip and shrugged while Taylor smiled. "Just a big day I guess. We're ready to head home."

Deciding not to question them any further Nathan turned the key in the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot. They rode in silence for almost twenty minutes before Lucas started coughing and spluttering, pinching his nose with his fingers.

"Nate, man. That is nasty."

"Hey it wasn't me and I can't even smell anything. Besides, whoever smelt it dealt it!"

"Real mature _little_ bother." Lucas bit out, scowling at his brother while winding his window down slightly.

"Oh God, I can smell it now, too." Nathan stated with disgust a second before Haley voiced her agreement.

"Me too. That is foul." Mimicking Lucas' pinching action, Haley turned to glance between the brothers and asked with a nasally voice. "What have you guys been eating?"

Jamie's giggle caught her attention and she realized how ridiculous she must have sounded… and how stupid they must all look to passing motorists; everyone holding their noses and scrunching their faces up.

Both Scott brothers denied being responsible and the car went quiet again until Haley noticed Nathan glancing at her furtively.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"Well you remember what you were like with Jamie towards the end of your pregnancy."

Haley gasped with indignation. So… she'd been a little gassy. It was normal during pregnancy, but what was not normal, was for her supposedly loving husband to bring it up her bodily functions in front of other people!

It only took a few moments before Taylor's heckling laughter could be heard in the back seat. Oh how she loved to tease her sister, and Nathan of all people had unwittingly given her ammunition for many years to come.

Lucas looked between the other three adults in the car warily. Taylor was looking extremely smug, Haley appeared just about ready to blow a fuse, while Nathan's teasing smirk was still firmly in place. Fighting back a chuckle, Lucas secretly took pleasure in knowing his brother was in trouble. Served him right for being such a smart ass… only, apparently Nathan wasn't so smart at all because not only did he not apologize, the idiot kept going. Luke couldn't help but wonder how Nate had managed to survive seven years of marriage.

"What? You know it's true. You could have given Whitey a run for his money."

Haley's jaw dropped and she swatted her husband on the arm, growling that he could forget about their earlier plans for having some fun later on that evening. Before Nathan even had a chance to back track, Lucas interrupted him.

"What's that noise? It's like a rustling sound."

Taylor and Jamie quickly sat up straight. "I didn't hear anything. Hey Sis, how about we put on the radio?"

Lucas eyed her suspiciously and noticed Haley doing the same. "Taylor? What are you hiding? You've been far too quiet since we left the fair."

"Nothing. Damn, you'd think a sister could get some trust once in a while. Jeesh!"

The focus moved from the Taylor to Jamie who was biting his lip, a trait he'd inherited from his mother, a sure sign that he was nervous. "Jamie? Anything you need to tell mommy?"

The little boy looked quickly at his Auntie Tay before shaking his head 'no'. It was then that the rustling sound grew louder and Haley, facing the back of the car, saw the plastic backed picnic rug they kept in the back moving around.

"What the? Nathan, pull over." She whispered softly in a panic. "I think there's someone in the back under the picnic rug."

Nathan quickly veered onto the shoulder and slammed on the breaks, horrified by the thought that someone could be hiding in back. He was about to jump out of the car and race around to investigate when the little, white head of a lamb popped up behind the seat and it began bleating and nudging his son's head playfully.

Three jaws dropped in shock as they stared at the animal for long moments. Haley looked from her sister to her son, both of them sporting matching guilty grins.

"Oh wow. Mommy, I think Santa came early."


End file.
